race & politics
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Unsettling Sunscreen PSA Puts People In Ultraviolet Light
A recent sunscreen PSA manages to be both enlightening and super uncomfortable…all while managing to keep a healthy hipstery glow and a sense of muted quirkiness made to leave you feeling warm inside. If it makes you feel any better, the puns will be the least stressful part of your next couple minutes. The video…
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Police Assassinate Michael Brown's Character. Then Say They're Not Assassinating His Character.
Earlier today, it was reported, along with video, that Michael Brown was the primary suspect in a convenience store robbery before being fatally shot by police officer Darren Wilson. He, and eye-witness to the shooting Dorian Johnson, allegedly robbed a store of a box of Swisher Sweets and on the way out of the store,…
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On J. Cole's "Be Free" and Hip-Hop In Times of Protest
One thing I have stopped doing over the years is looking at hip-hop artists to be a voice for our social conscious. Of course when things in Ferguson, Missouri started getting out of control I had a quick thought: “What’s Nelly going to do?” But I dismissed it as quick as it entered my head.…
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Negro Supercriminal Michael Brown Apparently Deserved To Die
This title is not hyperbole. There is also no sarcasm here. Well, let me rephrase that. For rational, clear-thinking, and thoughtful people, the sentiment expressed in the title is not true. This is also not true for Americans — Black, White, whoever — who’ve learned not to believe everything — or, in some cases, anything…
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White Guy Acts A Fool, Black Guy Gets Maced For Being In The Vicinity
Thank the lord for camera-phones, photogs, and civic-minded individuals who give a shit. Especially considering everything going on in Missouri right now, its kind of cool to hear non-Black people have the back (unsuccessfully) of a young, Black guy. Because it’s been that kind of week, such is the story of 25-year-old Raymond Wilford who…
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President Obama Speaks On Ferguson…And Words Come Out Of His Mouth
I’m a huge President Obama fan. Which, these days, often makes me an Obama defender. Part of this defense is a personality-based relation. He’s a textbook introvert. I am as well. I know how it feels to have your pensive and deliberate nature interpreted as being robotic, arrogant, and aloof. I also know how it…
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Recap: The Naturalista Hair Show "Men's Perspective Panel"
On Sunday, August 3rd, I had the privelege of being apart of a panel discussion about natural hair at the Naturalista Hair Show. This fact surprised many people who delighted in reminding me that I didn’t have any hair. There are some observant ass people out here in these streets, let me tell you. (Video…
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That Time We Were Reminded That "Black American" Is An Oxymoron
I know we did something on Mike Brown already earlier this week, but with the way this situation in Ferguson has ballooned, I just can’t think/write about anything else. Even if I did, it wouldn’t feel appropriate. I’m also too stunned/shocked to write something coherent. And I’m assuming many of you feel the same way.…
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How Safe Do You Feel In America?
America is not a safe place for the Black American. It’s an obvious but sad truth, one every Mike Brown (and every Eric Garner, and every John Crawford, and every Oscar Grant, and…), every news story about weekend violence in whichever city you’re from, and every memory of how your life is impacted by a…